Tag: Bellator 246

Spinning Back Clique: Who should fight Nick Diaz? Is Alistair Overeem a lock for the UFC Hall of Fame?

Check out “Spinning Back Clique,” which covers the fallout from UFC on ESPN+34, looks ahead to a busy Bellator weekend, and more.

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This week, Simon Head hosts and is joined by MMA Junkie Radio’s “Gorgeous” George and “Goze,” as well as MMA Junkie lead staff reporter John Morgan. Let’s get to it!

SHOW TOPICS

  • It seems beloved MMA veteran [autotag]Nick Diaz[/autotag] is prepping for a return to the cage in early 2021, in what would be his first fight since January 2015. So who should he fight in his UFC comeback?
  • The UFC has been a leader in the sporting world in dealing with COVID-19, but in recent weeks, a number of bouts have fallen out at the last minute. What should the UFC be doing better as a response?
  • Bellator hosts a big doubleheader at the FightSphere this weekend. But which card has the more intriguing main event? Is it Bellator 245 with a [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Lyoto Machida[/autotag] rematch, or Bellator 246, with [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] for the promotion’s vacant bantamweight title?
  • Speaking of Bellator titles, former UFC title challengers [autotag]Cat Zingano[/autotag] and [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] are each set to make their Bellator debuts this weekend. Which one has best shot at holding Bellator gold?
  • Lastly, [autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag] picked up a big win at UFC on ESPN+ 34 and says he wants to hold UFC gold before he calls it a career. Is he still a UFC Hall of Famer if he falls short of that goal?

Austin Vanderford out of Bellator 246; Pat Casey targeted replacement vs. Daniel Madrid

Austin Vanderford is out of Bellator’s upcoming back-to-back-show weekend.

[autotag]Austin Vanderford[/autotag] won’t compete during Bellator’s upcoming weekend of back-to-back shows.

One of Bellator’s rising middleweights, Vanderford is out of his scheduled Bellator 246 fight against [autotag]Daniel Madrid[/autotag]. Now Massachusetts-based fighter [autotag]Pat Casey[/autotag] is being targeted as his replacement to take on Madrid (17-6 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) on Sept. 12 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

A promotion official notified MMA Junkie of Vanderford being out for undisclosed reasons and the new targeted booking Friday.

Madrid was supposed to compete against Impa Kasanganay for the LFA middleweight championship on March 20. However, the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Madrid, 36, has won four straight fights – all inside the distance.

Casey (6-2 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) has won two of his most recent three fights. After defeating Mike DiOrio and Matt Denning, Casey was knocked out by Yu Ji at Premier FC 30 in February. Casey holds three finishes in six victories.

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Bellator 246 takes place Saturday, Sept. 12 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card will simulcast on DAZN and Paramount after prelims on MMA Junkie.

With the addition, the current Bellator 246 lineup includes:

  • Juan Archuleta vs. Patchy Mix – for the vacant bantamweight title
  • Jon Fitch vs. Neiman Gracie
  • DeAnna Bennett vs. Liz Carmouche
  • Derek Campos vs. Keoni Diggs
  • Daniel Madrid vs. Pat Casey
  • Ty Gwerder vs. George Tokkos
  • Davion Franklin vs. Ras Hylton

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Robson Gracie Jr. vs. Billy Goff added to Bellator 246 in Connecticut

The lineup for the second half of Bellator’s back-to-back events in September continues to grow with the addition of a welterweight fight.

The lineup for the second half of Bellator’s back-to-back events in September continues to grow with the addition of a welterweight fight.

[autotag]Robson Gracie Jr.[/autotag] (3-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) will take on [autotag]Billy Goff[/autotag] (2-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) at Bellator 246. Goff announced the fight on his Facebook page. The two were scheduled to meet at Bellator 241 in March, but that event was the first the promotion shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bellator 246 takes place Sept. 12 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie. The night before, Bellator 245 takes place at the same venue.

Gracie, part of the famed Gracie jiu-jitsu family from Brazil, has – perhaps to little surprise – three straight submission wins to open his pro career. And he’s done it in three different ways. He caught Brysen Bolohao with a rear-naked choke in his 2018 pro debut, tapped Oscar Vera with an armbar in June 2019, and beat Ameer Bashir with a triangle choke in November 2019 at Bellator 234.

Goff will be trying to get back in the win column after back-to-back losses in 2019. He turned pro at the beginning of the year and stopped Armus Guyton in his debut under the Reality Fighting banner. At Bellator 215, he took a decision from Ryan Hardy Evans to move to 2-0. But later in the year, he dropped a decision to Camron Lochinov and lost a TKO to Jonathan Pico for Cage Titans to fall to 2-2.

With the addition, the Bellator 246 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (Paramount, DAZN 10 p.m. ET)

  • Juan Archuleta vs. Patchy Mix
  • Jon Fitch vs. Neiman Gracie
  • DeAnna Bennett vs. Liz Carmouche
  • Derek Campos vs. Roger Huerta

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie)

  • Daniel Madrid vs. Austin Vanderford
  • Ty Gwerder vs. George Tokkos
  • Davion Franklin vs. Ras Hylton
  • Billy Goff vs. Robson Gracie Jr.

Liz Carmouche vs. DeAnna Bennett, Campos vs. Huerta among Bellator 246 additions

The second half of Bellator’s shows on two consecutive nights has additions, including the debut of a former UFC title challenger.

The second half of Bellator’s shows on two consecutive nights has some new additions, including the promotional debut of a former UFC title challenger.

[autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] (13-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will fight in Bellator for the first time when she takes on [autotag]DeAnna Bennett[/autotag] (10-6-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a women’s flyweight bout on the Bellator 246 main card. Plus, [autotag]Derek Campos[/autotag] (20-10 MMA, 9-8 BMMA) is set to take on [autotag]Roger Huerta[/autotag] (24-12-1 MMA, 1-5 BMMA) in a lightweight bout.

On the prelims, [autotag]Ty Gwerder[/autotag] (4-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) fights [autotag]George Tokkos[/autotag] (4-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) at middleweight and [autotag]Davion Franklin[/autotag] (1-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) meets [autotag]Ras Hylton[/autotag] (6-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) in a heavyweight bout.

Bellator 246 takes place Saturday, Sept. 12, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie. One night prior, the same venue hosts Bellator 245.

Carmouche in 2013 made history when she became the first woman to step into a UFC cage for a fight when she challenged Ronda Rousey for the women’s bantamweight title. She lost with a first-round submission. In 2017, she dropped to flyweight and after back-to-back wins got a shot at UFC champ Valentina Shevchenko in August 2019. She lost that fight by unanimous decision. Now she makes her way to Bellator with a resume that includes 10 UFC fights, a pair of Invicta FC bouts and three fights in Strikeforce, where she also fought for a title.

Bennett fought on Season 26 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” She fought to a draw with Melinda Fabian at the TUF 26 Finale, which was her only official UFC bout. Most recently, she’s been with Invicta. In September 2019, she won her first two fights in the promotion’s single-night women’s flyweight tournament, but was submitted by Miranda Maverick in the third round of the tourney’s final.

With the additions, the Bellator 246 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (Paramount, DAZN, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Juan Archuleta vs. Patchy Mix – for vacant bantamweight title
  • Jon Fitch vs. Neiman Gracie
  • DeAnna Bennett vs. Liz Carmouche
  • Derek Campos vs. Roger Huerta

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie)

  • Daniel Madrid vs. Austin Vanderford
  • Ty Gwerder vs. George Tokkos
  • Davion Franklin vs. Ras Hylton

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Austin Vanderford booked to fight Daniel Madrid at Bellator 246

Austin Vanderford is set to return to the Bellator cage for the first time since last November.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Bellator’s back-to-back events weekend is starting to fill up.

On the second leg of the two-night doubleheader, middleweights [autotag]Austin Vanderford[/autotag] and [autotag]Daniel Madrid[/autotag] will square off at Bellator 246.

Multiple people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the booking on Wednesday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Vanderford (9-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) has not fought since November but has kept himself busy competing in grappling matches. Earlier this week, he and his wife, Paige Vanzant, revealed that Vanderford tested positive for COVID-19. They later said he has tested negative twice since.

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Madrid (17-6 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) was supposed to compete against Impa Kasanganay for the LFA middleweight championship on March 20. However, the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Madrid, 36, has won four straight fights – all inside the distance.

Bellator 246 takes place Saturday, Sept. 12 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card will simulcast on DAZN and Paramount after prelims on MMA Junkie.

With the addition, the current Bellator 246 lineup includes:

  • Juan Archuleta vs. Patchy Mix – for the vacant bantamweight title
  • Jon Fitch vs. Neiman Gracie
  • DeAnna Bennett vs. Liz Carmouche
  • Derek Campos vs. Roger Huerta
  • Daniel Madrid vs. Austin Vanderford

Davis-Machida 2, Archuleta-Mix title fight lead back-to-back Bellator shows Sept. 11-12

Bellator is no stranger to putting on back-to-back shows in Connecticut. Now the promotion will go down that road again next month.

Bellator is no stranger to putting on back-to-back shows in Connecticut. Now the promotion will go down that road again next month.

Bellator 245 and Bellator 246 are slated for consecutive nights Sept. 11-12 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. A person with knowledge of the events confirmed the news to MMA Junkie on Wednesday following an initial report from ESPN.

The Bellator 245 headliner will be a rematch between former Bellator light heavyweight champion [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag] (21-5 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) and former UFC champ [autotag]Lyoto Machida[/autotag] (26-9 MMA, 2-1 BMMA). In addition, former UFC title challenger [autotag]Cat Zingano[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will make her promotional debut against [autotag]Gabrielle Holloway[/autotag] (6-5 MMA, 1-2 BMMA).

At Bellator 246, the vacant bantamweight title will be on the line between [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] (24-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA). Plus, [autotag]Jon Fitch[/autotag] (32-7-2 MMA, 1-1-1 BMMA) is set to take on [autotag]Neiman Gracie[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) at welterweight.

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Davis and Machida fought at UFC 163 a little more than seven years ago in Brazil, where Davis won a mildly controversial unanimous decision. Although all three judges scored the fight for him 29-28, none of the media members tracked by MMADecisions.com scored the fight for Davis.

Davis won Bellator’s light heavyweight title in 2016, but lost it in his first defense to current dual champion Ryan Bader. Since that setback, he’s gone 4-1, including back-to-back wins over former champ Liam McGeary and Karl Albrektsson in 2019. His lone loss in that stretch was a split call to Vadim Nemkov, who on Friday challenges Bader for the light heavyweight belt.

Machida will be looking to rebound from a split decision loss to Gegard Mousasi in September 2019. Prior to that, he had four straight wins, including his first two in Bellator after coming over from the UFC in 2018 as a free agent. He took a split call from Rafael Carvalho in his promotional debut and stopped Chael Sonnen with a second-round TKO before his loss to Mousasi.

Archuleta was cruising through the Bellator ranks and had fought at both featherweight and bantamweight. He earned a title shot against 145-pound champ Patricio Freire in September 2019, but lost a unanimous decision for his first setback in the promotion. In January, he bounced back with a win over Henry Corrales at featherweight, but now he’ll drop back down to 135 pounds to go after a belt.

Mix stayed unbeaten this past December in a crossover fight at Rizin 20 when he submitted Yuki Motoya in the first round on New Year’s Eve. Earlier in the year, he picked up first-round submission wins in his first two Bellator bouts against Ricky Bandejas an Isaiah Chapman. He has nine of his first 13 career wins by submission.

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